Cotton-packer.



T. L. KINNE.

COTTON PAGKBR.

APPLICATION FILED 1NOV.29, 1912.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. ZZ/fj/me wltnesses Inventor MQM 7 Attorneys COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH c0" WASHINGTON. D. Q;

T. L. KINNE.

COTTON PAGKEB.

APPLICATION I'ILBD NOV. 29, 1912.

1,077,477, Patented N0v.4, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I .Z K

Attorneys T. L. KINNE.

COTTON PAGKEB. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1912,

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I III Inventor Witnesses S y e n r 0 LL A UNItTE TATQEd FTEINT TEMPEL LEEBOY KINNE, OF DALLAS, TEXAS.

COTTONPACKElR-.

Application Novenieer 1512.

To all 107107)); it may concern Be it known that I, TEMPEL L. Kixnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Cotton-Packer, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic cotton packers, its object being to provide improved means whereby the cotton, as it leaves the gin. is packed efficiently prior to the pressing thereof.

A further object. is to provide a cotton packer having improved feeding means con trolling the actuation of the steam valve, whereby the tamper is set in motion at the proper times to compress and then to 'release the cotton within the packer.

further object is to provide feeding means which operates to prevent the cotton from spilling onto the floor while the press is being turned or shifted, the cotton being so held as not to chokethe packer or otherwise interfere with the proper operation thereof.

further object is to provide mechanism of this character which can be controlled either automatically or by hand, as desired.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will be apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangements of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed. it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the. invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings:Figure 1 is an elevation of a packer having the present improvements combined therewith, the fingers being shown extended past the lint slide, said slide being in section. Fig. 9. is a side elevation of the mechanism constituting the present invention, a portion of the cylinder being broken away. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2, the lint slide being removed and the rod of the tamper being shown in section. Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the mechanism. Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation of the cam controlling arm and spring and adjacent parts. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. a, 1913.

Serial No. 734.217.

the cam and its controlling arm. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the cam. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the crank engagmg portion of the vaive mechanism.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates the sills of the packer and the lint slide 2 discharges below the sills, as shown in Fig. 1. Arranged above the s."ls is a cylinder 3 having the usual form of piston, not shown, the rod #l of the piston icing attached to the tamper 5 of the packer. A steam valve 6 is arranged adjacent the cylinder and is adapted to be supplied from any suitable source through a pipe T, there being pipes 8 and 9 leading from the valve casing to the respective ends of the cylinder 3. A. bracket 9 extends from the valve casing and fulcrumed hereon is a lever 10 provided at one end with a handle 11. This lever is pivotally connected to the valve stem 12. That end of the lever remote from handle 11 is pivotally connected to a link 13 which, in turn, is attached to a lever 14: fulcrumed as at ll. This lever l t is provided, in one face, with upper and lower ribs 15 and 16 formed along opposed edges of the lever and the lower end of the upper rib is preferably located above the upper end of the lower rib, as shown in Fig. 8. Sills 1'? are fixedly mounted at opposite sides of the lower portion of cylinder 3, lever let being fulcrnmed upon one of them as shown. These sills serve to support the controlling mechanism constituting the present invention. Arranged above the sills 17 is a drive shaft 18 and a secondary shaft 19, the shaft 19 being mounted to both slide and rotate within its bearings. One end of the shaft 19 is formed with a crank arm 20, the terminal of which is normally positioned directly in line with the space between the ribs 15'and 16 so that, should the shaft 19 be moved longitudinally in one direction, the free end of the crank will strike lever 1d at a point between the upper end of rib 16 and the lower end of rib 15. Shaft 18 is adapted to be driven continuously by a chain or the like engaging a sprocket 21 which may be placed in or out of operative connection with the drive shaft by means of a clutch 22 under the control of the operator. A gear 23 is keyed or otherwise secured to the drive shaft 18 and constantly meshes with another gear 2st which is mounted loosely on the driven shaft 19. Gear 2% may be held against movement toward or away from the bearings 25, in any suitable manner, as by means of a bracket 26 engaging the grooved hub 27 of the gear. A clutch 28 is secured on the shaft 19 and by means thereof the gear 24 can be placed in or out of operative relation with the shaft 19. It is to be understood. that clutch 28 moves with the shaft 19 under all conditions and that normally it is disengaged from the gear 24. The parts are so proportioned, however, that when shaft 19 is shifted longitudinally in one direction, clutch 28 will engage gear 24 and atthe same time crank will move against the lever 14 in the manner hereinbefore described. That end of the shaft 19 remote from crank 20 is preferably rounded, as shown at 29 and fixedly connected to the shaftv 19 near the rounded end thereof, is

' a collar 30 having a wedgesl1aped projection 31 extending from its periphery. Clutch 28 is provided. with a weight 32 so positioned that, when said clutch is disengaged from. gear 24, the weight 32 will gravitate to a vertical. position and thus cause the projection 31 normally to extend downwardly from the shaft.

Secured to shaft 18 at that end thereof remote from sprocket 21, is a head 33 in which is journaled a short shaft 34. Extending radially from one end of this shaft is an arm provided, at its free end, with a cam 36 from which a lug 37 projects laterally. Another arm 38 extends from the other end of shaft 34 and has an outstanding wrist pin 39 engaged by a revoluble sleeve 40. A spring 41 is attached at one end to this sleeve and at its other end to an car 42 extending from the head 33.

By referring particularly to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the distance from the axis of shaft 34 to the axis of shaft 18 is equal. to the distance from the axis of shaft 34 to the axis of wrist pin 39. Furthermore, by referring to said figure, it will be seen that shaft 34 is located at one side of a straight line extending from the center of car 42 to the axis of shaft 18. A stop projection or lug 43 is arranged on the head 33 at one side of the shaft 18 so that, should the arm 38 be swung past the end of shaft 18, the sleeve 40 will come against the stop 43 and spring 41 will thus hold the arm in the position to which it is shifted. Thus it will be seen that spring 41 serves to hold the arm 38 either projected beyond one side of head 33, as shown by full lines in Fig. 5, or else pressed against the stop lug 43 as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5. When arm 38 is in its normal position, as shown by full lines, the cam 36 is supported where it will not strike the end of shaft 19 as head 33 rotates with shaft 18. When, however, arm 38 is swung to its other position, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, cam 36 will be swung outwardly, as shown by dotted lines, so that, during the rotation of head 33, said cam will strike the end of shaft 19 and cause the said shaft to shift longitudinally.

Journaled above the discharge end of the lint slide 2, is a shaft 44 having an arm extending radially therefrom and provided with a longitudinal slot 46. The wrist pin 39 projects into this slot 46, as shown particularly in Fig. 1. Another arm 46 is fixedly connected to the shaft 44 and is pivotally attached to a rod 47 from which extend. elongated parallel feeding fingers 48. These fingers are adapted to work across the dis charge end of the lint slide 2 and certain of the fingers are connected, by links 49 to brackets 50. Links 49 are parallel with the arm 46 and said links and arm are of the same length so that, when shaft 44 is rotated back and forth, arm 46 and links 49 will swing upwardly and downwardly, thus causing the lower ends of fingers 48 to swing up wardly and outwardly and then downwardly and inwardly so as to intermittently engage.

the lint within the slide 2 and force it downw-ardly into the path of the tamper 5.

As heretofore pointed out shaft 18 rotates continuously unless, for any reason, the

clutch 22 is disengaged from sprocket 21..

As the wrist pin 39 is normally supported beyond one side of the head 33, it will be apparent that, as this head rotates with shaft 18, the wrist pin will travel in a circle about the axis of the shaft and will thus cause the slotted arm 45 to swing back and forth and produce a corresponding movement of the arm 46 and of the links 49. Fingers 48 will therefore be swung out wardly and upwardly so that their ends.

will be brought above the lint in the slide 2 after which they will be swung downwardly and inwardly so as to engage the lint and force it downwardly into the path of the tamper mally elevated. As the resistance offered by the cotton under the tamper 5 gradually increases, the downward and inward movement of the fingers 48 is rendered constantly more difiicult until finally the resistance is such as to cause the arm 45 to push against the wrist pin 39 and elongate spring 41. This pushing action continues until arm 38 is finally swung past its dead center so as to bring the arm 38 against the stop lug 43.

tained stationary across the discharge end of the lint slide 2. As soon as arm 38 is swung against the stop lug 43 in the manner described, the arm 35 is brought to position beyond the other side of head 33, as shown This tamper is of course nor- 3 nova-r27 by dotted lines in Fig. 5. Thus cam 36 is brought where, during the rotation of shaft 18 and head 33, said cam will strike the rounded end. of shaft 19 and shift it longitudinally. This longitudinal movement will result in bringing clutch 28 into engagement with the loose gear 2st, thereby coupling said loose gear to the shaft 19 and resulting in the transmission of motion fro-m shaft 18 through gears 23 and 2% to shaft 19. The end of crank arm 20 is thus brought against the lever 14 in the manner hereinbefore described and, as shaft 19 ro tates, this crank arm pushes first against the rib 15 and then against the rib 16 so as thus to cause lever 14: to swing inwardly toward the cylinder 3 and then to swing outwardly back to its initial position. During the inwardly swinging movement of lever 14, link 13 pulls on lever 10 and thus opens the valve 6 so that fluid under pressure will enter the upper end of cylinder 3 and force the tamper 5 downwardly so as to compress material thereunder. \Vhen the lever 14 is moved back to its initial position, lever 10 is swung so as to actuate the valve and thereby direct fluid under pressure into the lower end of the cylinder. This will, obviously, result in elevating the tamper to its initial position. The parts are so timed that, immediately subsequent to the elevation of the tamper, the projection 31 on collar 30 moves downwardly into a p0- sition where it will be contacted by the lug 37 during one of the rotations of the head 33 and, when this lug strikes the projection 31, it causes arm 35 to swing relative to head 33and, consequently, the arm 38 is moved against the action of its spring 41 so as to pass the dead center. Spring Ll promptly throws arm 38 back to its normal position, as shown by full lines in Fig. 5, thus swinging the lug 36 to a position where it will not strike shaft 19 until arm 38 is again swung back in the manner hereinbefore described. \Vhile lug 37 is in engagement with projection 31, the rotation of shaft 19 is greatly retarded and, therefore the rotating gear 24: will ride upon the clutch 2S and shift said clutch away from the gear so as to disconnect it and thus return shaft 19 to its initial position. Thus it will be seen that all of the parts become reset so as to again operate in the manner hereinbefore described when the cotton has been packed in the path of the tamper.

Upon the finishing of each bale the operator can, by means of the clutch 22, stop the machine without, at the same time, stopping the gin. Thus the gin can continue to feed cotton to the slide 2 but the stationary fingers 18 will prevent any of the cotton from falling out of the slide and onto the floor. Heretofore it has been necessary,

while the press is being turned around to empty the box, to stop both the gin and the packer mechanism but it will be seen that by utilizing the clutch 22, the gin can continue to work while the press is being moved. By providing lever 10 with a handle 11, the valve can be opened by the'operator whenever desired, as where an additional operation of the tamper is desired without feeding more cotton to the press box.

By utilizing fingers such as described for the purpose of retaining cotton within the lint slide, it becomes unnecessary to use a slidable shield such as has heretofore been employed and which has been found objectionable for the reason that more or less cotton becomes clogged between the shield and the press box, thus bending the piston rod and causing other injuries to the machine.

\Vhat is claimed is 1. In a cotton packer the combination with a lint slide, a tamper, and a valve for controlling the action of the tamper, of means movable across the discharge end of the slide for directing cotton into the path of the tamper, a drive shaft, a wrist pin revoluble therewith, means operated by the wrist pin for actuating said feeding means, and adapted, when the feeding means are subjected to excessive resistance, to shift the wrist pin into alinement with the drive shaft.

2. A cotton packer including a lint slide, a drive shaft, a wrist pin revoluble therewith and adapted to swing relative thereto, a tamper, means for feeding material from the lint slide and into the path of the tamper, and a connection between said feeding means and the wrist pin, said feeding means and connection constituting means for shifting the wrist pin into alinement with the drive shaft when the feeding means is subjected to excessive resistance.

3. The combination with a tamper, and a lint slide, of a drive shaft, a wrist pin revoluble therewith and adapted to move rela tive thereto, feeding means movable across the discharge end of the lint slide for directing material into the path of the tamper, and means for transmitting motion to the feeding means from the wrist pin, said feeding means and motion transmitting means cooperating to shift the wrist pin into alinement with the drive shaft when the feeding means is subjected to excessive resistance.

4. A cotton packer including a tamper, a lint slide, a drive shaft, a wrist pin revoluble with the drive shaft and adapted to move relative thereto, feeding means movable across the discharge end of the lint slide for directing material into the path of the tamper, means for transmitting motion to the feeding means from the wrist pin, said feeding means and motion transmitting means cooperating to shift the wrist pin to inactive position in alinement with the drive shaft when the feeding means is subjected to excessive resistance, and yielding means for holding the wrist pin in both active and inactive positions.

5. A cotton packer including a tamper, a lint slide, a drive shaft, a wrist pin revoluble with the drive shaft and adapted to move relative thereto, feeding means movable across the discharge end of the lint slide for directing material into the path of the tamper, means for transmitting motion to the feeding means from the wrist pin, said feeding means and motion transmitting means cooperating to shift the wrist pin to inactive position in alinement with the drive shaft when the feeding means is subjected to excessive resistance, yielding means for holding the wrist pin in both active and inactive positions, and means for automatically shifting the wrist pin out of inactive position.

6. A cotton packer including a tamper, a lint slide, a drive shaft, a wrist pin revoluble with the drive shaft and adapted to move relative thereto, feeding means movable across the discharge end of the lint slide for directing material into the path of the tamper, means for transmitting motion to the feeding means from the wrist pin, said feeding means and motion transmitting means cooperating to shift the wrist pin to inactive position in alinement with the drive shaft when the feeding means is subjected to eX- cessive resistance, yielding means for holding the wrist pin in both active and inactive positions, and means movable in timed relation with the drive shaft for shifting the wrist pin out of inactive position.

7. The combination with a tamper, a lint slide, and fluid operated means for raising and lowering the tamper, said means including a valve, of a drive shaft normally rotating, a normally stationary secondary shaft mounted to slide and to rotate, a revoluble member upon the secondary shaft and normally driven by the drive shaft, a cam revoluble with and shiftable relative to the drive shaft, said cam being normally in inactive position, cotton feeding means, means actuated thereby when subjected to excessive resistance by the cotton, for shifting the cam from inactive to active position, to engage the secondary shaft to shift it longitudi nally, means upon the shaft for engaging the revoluhle member thereon to couple the shaft thereto upon the completion of said movement, and means operated by the secondary shaft when shifted longitudinally for actuating the valve successively to lower and raise the tamper.

8. The combination with a tamper, a lint slide, and fluid operated means for raising and lowering the tamper, said means includ ing a valve, of a drive shaft normally rotating, a normally stationary secondary shaft mounted to slide and to rotate, a revoluble member upon the secondary shaft and normally driven by the drive shaft, a cam revoluble with and shiftable relative to the drive shaft, said cam bcingnormally in inactive position, cotton feeding means, means actuated thereby when subjected to excesating the valve successively to lower and raise the tamper, and cooperating means upon the cam and secondary, shaft for returning the cam and the secondary shaft to their inactive positions.

9. A cotton packer including a tamper, a lint slide, a drive shaft mounted for rotation, a head carried thereby, an arm mount ed to swing relative to and movable with the head, feeding means movable across the discharge end of the lint slide for directing material into the path of the tamper, means slidably and pivotally engaged by the arm during the rotation of the head and shaft for actuating the feeding means, yielding means for holding the arm in active position, said feeding means being adapted to shift the arm out of active position and against the action of said yielding means when the feed ing means are subjected to excessive resistance, and a stop upon the head for holding the arm in inactive position.

10. In a cotton packer the combination with a tamper, of a drive shaft normally rotating, a secondary shaft normally stationary and adapted to slide, a head movable with the drive shaft, a shaft journaled in the head, arms extending radially from the end portions of said last named shaft, means operated by one of the arms when rotating ith the drive shaft for feeding material into 9 the path of the tamper, a cam carried by the other arm, said cam bemg normally 1n 1nac tive position, said feeding means being adapted, when sub ected to excessive resistance, to shift the arms and move the cam 11. In a cotton packer the combination with a lint slide, a tamper, and av valve for controlling the action of the tamper, of means movable relative to the slide for directing cotton from the slide and into the path of the tamper, a drive shaft, and means operated by the drive shaft for actuating the cotton directing means, said actuating means including a power transmitting element shiftable toward or from the axis of rotation of the shaft in proportion to the resistance to which the cotton directing means are subjected.

12. In a cotton packer the combination with a lint slide, a tamper, and means for actuating the tamper, of means movable relative to the slide for directing cotton into the path of the tamper, a revoluble element, and means operated by said element for actuating the cotton directing means, said means adapted, when subjected to excessive resistance, to shift said element toward or into its axis of rotation.

13. 'In a cotton packer the combination with a tamper, means for actuating the tamper, and means for directing lint toward the path of the tamper, of means movable relative to said lint directing means for forcing cotton into the path of the tamper, a revoluble element, and means operated by said element for actuating the cotton directing means, said actuating means being adapted,

when subjected to excessive resistance, to shift the revoluble element toward or into line with the axis of rotation of said element.

14. In a cotton packer the combination with a tamper, means for actuating the tamper, and means for directing lint toward the path of the tamper, of means movable relative to said lint directing means for forcing cotton into the path of the tamper, a revoluble element, means operated by said element for actuating the cotton directing means, said actuating means being adapted, when subjected to excessive resistance, to shift the revoluble element toward or into line with the axis of rotation of said element, and means for automatically shifting said element away from its axis of rotation when relieved of such resistance.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

TEMPEL LEEROY KINNE.

Witnesses RUTH PENN, R. O. MLLLS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

